The University of Redlands men's soccer team made the trek to Thousand Oaks for an important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against Cal Lutheran University on Saturday. While dominating in nearly every statistical category, the Bulldogs scored the golden goal in the final minute of the second overtime to outlast the Kingsmen in a 1-0 decision.
After nearly 110 minutes of scoreless action, the Maroon and Gray gained the game-winning goal on a short-field counterattack with 42 seconds to go. The play began with a throw-in by senior defender Nick DeQuiroz (San Jose, CA) to first-year midfielder Avery Jacobson (Seattle, WA), who launched it across the box to the far post. Senior forward Kayvon Parsa (West Hills, CA), who created havoc for the Kingsmen all game with a career-high nine shots, made an excellent play to get a foot on the ball and use a tough angle to tap it in for the golden-goal finish.
Parsa began the game with a header-shot that was saved. He continued to be active with two more attempts in the first half, but one went wide left and the other flew high. As time ticked down in the opening stanza, the Maroon and Gray had one more chance on a set piece off a corner with three seconds remaining, but nothing came of it.
Redlands looked to go to work early in the second frame with two shots from Jacobson and Parsa that challenged the Kingsmen goalkeeper within the first few minutes.
During a short two-minute span, the Bulldogs took four dangerous shots that nearly broke the stalemate. After first-year forward Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA) went wide left, Parsa gained another good look that forced a save. Just moments later, junior forward Antony Chonga (San Diego, CA) put a shot on goal, which was also stopped. Immediately following, the Bulldogs regained possession, which allowed senior midfielder Arman Mogharei (Hayward, CA) to fire off a quality attempt that bounced off the crossbar.
The Maroon and Gray remained aggressive to finish regulation with three shots in the final 10 minutes. Acuña caught the Cal Lutheran goalkeeper out of position and uncorked a lethal blast that required the Kingsmen defense to come up with a block to avoid the score. Parsa's attempt in the 88th minute had the same result, as the teams headed into the first overtime.
Neither team got much going in the first 10 minutes with only one shot coming from the Bulldogs that was blocked. As action progressed in the second overtime, it looked as if the game would end in a draw. Time became a huge factor with one final possession to win the match when Parsa came up with the game-winner.
Redlands benefitted from the savvy efforts of sophomore goalkeeper Matteo DeFina (Livermore, CA) and junior goalkeeper Noah Natividad (San Diego, CA), who collectively earned the shutout on two saves apiece. They gained excellent support from the backline of senior defenders Spencer Scott (Portland, OR), Nick DeQuiroz (San Jose, CA), and Joey Kenney, and junior defender Dylan Carlyle (San Jose, CA).
Redlands (6-3-0, 5-2-0, SCIAC) seeks to carry this momentum into its next conference match against Whittier College on Wednesday, October 3, on Farquhar Field. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.